I Awakened A Divine Curse

Auren stared down at the armor Devourer had spat out after consuming the shard he received from slaying the Polypheme.

The helm dissolved like midnight mist, darkness seeping into the tiny pores of his skin.

His crimson eyes widened with undisguised delight. Auren was ecstatic. Truly!

The armor was magnificent. It retained all the abilities of the original and seemed even more impressive. The previous silver armor had made him stand out, but this one would turn heads too.

Albeit, in a darker, more ominous fashion.

He ran his fingers through his hair, tilting his chin upward with a satisfied grin.

Strutting into the bathroom, he posed before the cracked mirror. He thrust his fingers forward like a triumphant hero who'd just saved the day.

'You fuck-rotted mongrel, why do you look so damn good?!'

He cupped his chin thoughtfully, raising a brow.

'Because I can, cockfucker.'

Then he planted his hands on his waist, standing tall like a monument to courage itself.

A moment later, he shook his head solemnly.

'I could easily pass for a valiant hero like Golden Lantern, but nah, death suits me better.'

He smiled and finally abandoned the bathroom, the armor dissolving into his body in wisps of black smoke.

Then he doubled back. With nothing pressing to do, Auren climbed onto the bed. He squeezed his eyes shut, resolving not to rise until he'd secured a hefty dose of sleep.

He'd completed round one of rest in Rage's home; round two would happen here.

Afterward, the next phase of his plan was to track down Meredith and Jasper.

A slight frown creased his brow.

'I should kill that Paladin first. So their safety doesn't get jeopardized.'

He commended himself for thinking that one and silenced his thoughts.

***

A bone-rattling tremor jolted Auren from his slumber. The violent shake launched both him and his bed into the air. The furnitures around all staggered and almost fell, before the tremor eventually vanished.

His eyes snapped open, still clouded with sleep, before narrowing into a frown.

"What in the world of the damn is that old hag doing?"

He rose, snatched up the cloak, and stalked out of the room.

Despite Asenya's clear warnings to avoid the first floor, Auren couldn't care less about her restrictions anymore.

She had forfeited her authority the moment she shoved him into that hall. Fortunately for him, she possessed a thread of conscience and seemed to be tolerating his rudeness.

He climbed up the stairs with hurried steps and eventually reached the first floor, immediately flinging open the massive doors to the hall.

A wall of smoke greeted him, surging through the doorway. He recoiled instantly, hacking as the acrid cloud crashed into him.

Scowling, Auren pressed forward, shielding his nose with his sleeve as he plunged into the haze.

He surveyed his surroundings carefully. Though the ashen smoke hung dense as stone walls, impenetrable to normal sight, Auren could sense the hall's dark nature with surprising clarity. While not as precise as vision, this strange perception served as a remarkable substitute.

Perhaps his time in the Garden of Grief had honed this peculiar sense.

Navigating through the thick veil of ashen mist proved surprisingly manageable.

Auren halted before the woman, who lay sprawled with an odd, satisfied grin stretching across her face.

He studied her for a moment, then arched an eyebrow.

"Are you that thrilled about nearly demolishing Aven Noctis' Temple?"

Her eyes widened dramatically the moment she spotted Auren, the dark circles beneath her ethereal eyes now more pronounced, yet they only enhanced her allure, adding a subtle, unconventional and haunting beauty to her features.

She rose to her feet with a fluid grace that Auren puzzled over for several moments after this time.

Then she clutched his cheeks fiercely between her palms, her exhausted eyes dancing with unbridled joy.

"It's a success! It's a darn success!! After being trapped in this accursed place for seventy years, I can finally escape!!"

Auren's cheeks strained within the grasp of her delicate, pale hands. He couldn't even turn his head. Her touch appeared gentle but anchored him with the unyielding strength of a steel mountain!

His expression remained largely impassive, his words emerging muffled as he attempted to convey his genuine support for her achievement.

"I'm happy, I'm happy... please will you..."

She likely hadn't heard him, but she immediately released him, already rushing toward the dais of the hall. The smoke was gradually dissipating — thanks to his opening the door, as this hall contained no windows whatsoever.

He trailed after her silently, surveying the devastation scattered around them.

Even more fragments of onyx stones littered the floor, many of substantial size. Some resembled shattered statues, while others were too mangled to identify.

She stopped before a colossal statue, and Auren's brow furrowed the instant he laid eyes upon it.

That was because the statue bore an uncanny resemblance to something that had inflicted considerable trauma upon him barely twenty-four hours ago, if the concept of measuring time in this perpetual night made any semblance of sense.

The creature was carved from onyx stone, with numerous fissures crisscrossing different parts of its body, giving the impression that disparate fragments had been cobbled together with some mystical glue.

It towered above them, crowned with a helm of white light that glowed and streamed backward. Though it wore no cloak, a subtle radiance perpetually cascaded down its back like a waterfall of divine essence.

The entity, whatever it was, stirred to life the moment Auren got closer. Immediately it fixed its gaze upon Auren, the white light emanating from its eyes flared with sudden ferocity.

In a heartbeat, the statue had surged past Asenya, leaving her wide-eyed with naked shock.

It slammed its fist into Auren before he could react, seizing him and hurtling forward until it smashed him against the wall.

A spiderweb of cracks instantly bloomed across the stone surface. Auren's entire body convulsed as blood spilled from his mouth and his head slumped forward.

Even though he now wore the dark, sinister armor, the impact still felt bone-shattering and visceral. This suggested the damage would have been catastrophic without the protection of his evolved armor. He would have probably died.

Auren slowly slid to the ground as the statue relinquished its grip.

He clenched his teeth.

'Ah that insane old hag... why did she have to go ahead and resurrect him. Fuckshit!'